Accessibility Resources

Home Modifications for Accessible Living Program

In the City of Bloomington, the Home Modifications for Accessible Living Program (HMAL) can help with home modifications for income-qualified Bloomington residents facing accessibility challenges at home. A grant of up to $9,500 is available for owner-occupied homes and up to $3,000 for rental properties. for modifications in your home to provide barrier-free housing. Modifications include but are not limited to:

Ramp installation

Doorway and hallway widening

Additional lighting installation, and

Handle and grip bar installation in bathrooms.

Accessibility Fact Sheets

The fact sheets below are a selection of FHCCI resources from the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI), a nonprofit that offers education programs and activities to increase fair housing knowledge. FHCCI works with consumers, the housing industry, and state and local policy makers to advance fair housing.

Fair housing laws require providers to make reasonable accommodations in their rules, policies, practices or services to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit or common space. Accommodations are reasonable when they are practical and feasible. To deny an accommodation, a provider must show that it causes an undue burden or is unreasonable.

Individuals with disabilities may require the use of animals to assist them in coping and/or dealing with their disabilities. Under fair housing laws, an individual who is disabled and can show a connection between their disability and their need of an animal may ask the housing provider for a reasonable accommodation in no pets policies. To deny the accommodation, the landlord must prove that such an accommodation is not reasonable or causes an undue burden to the landlord.

Visitability is an architectural concept that means that new residential construction is built to have some basic accessible features which allow the resident’s family members or friends who have mobility impairments to visit the home. Visitability also accommodates residents who don’t have disabilities at purchase but who age while still in the same home or who unexpectedly obtain a mobility impairment. Having basic visitable features allows the home to be accessible to both young and aged residents.

An excellent resource from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding accessibility requirements for multifamily properties built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991. The Fair Housing Act Design Manual: A Manual to Assist Designers and Builders in Meeting the Accessibility Requirements of The Fair Housing Act provides clear and helpful guidance about ways to design and construct housing that complies with the Fair Housing Act.

Photo credit: Joyce Huis/Unsplash

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